If there’s one thing no tired barista’s wrist appreciates at the end of a long and hectic shift of dosing and tamping, it’s scrubbing out the portafilters. Well-worn portafilters, no matter how long they’re soaked in any given detergent, will eventually develop a sort of espresso-imparted patina that gets harder and harder to completely scrub away, and yet the increasingly arduous task is a crucial component of maintaining clean-tasting espresso, and hygienic, long-lasting equipment.

Espresso machine manufacturer Nuova Simonelli has heard the call. Having already undertaken nanotechnological R&D to alter the surface of the steel out of which they forge their steam wands to achieve an inherently more hygienic, non-stick surface that does not depend on an additional coating that eventually wears off, the company has now employed that same technology to their portafilters. Going forward, all new NS machines will ship with filter-holders enhanced on the molecular level to be easier to clean.